The Oklahoma City Thunder have advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012 with their 124-91 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 34 points, while his co-stars Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams had 22 points and 19 points respectively. Gilgeous-Alexander was named Western Conference Finals MVP to go with his regular season MVP award.
The Thunder faced very little difficulties against the Wolves after being pushed to seven games in the second round by the Denver Nuggets. The Thunder were down by nine in the fourth quarter of a pivotal Game 5 against the Nuggets, but managed to complete a comeback victory.
The Thunder will host the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks on Thursday, June 5th in Game 1 of the Finals.
Sam Presti initiated a rebuild of the Thunder in 2019 when he traded Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers and Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets. The Thunder acquired Gilgeous-Alexander from the Clippers, as well as the pick that became Williams. After remaining a surprise playoff team in 2020, the Thunder then won 46 combined games in 20-21 and 21-22. The Thunder were a play-in team in 22-23 with 40 wins before winning 57 games in 23-24 and 68 this season.
